


delusion

by euriele



Category: Red vs. Blue
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-07
Updated: 2014-09-07
Packaged: 2018-02-16 12:34:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2269860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/euriele/pseuds/euriele
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes, people say things they normally wouldn't whilst under the influence.</p>
            </blockquote>





	delusion

How many times has a disease swept through the bases? How many times has something gotten into the water, the food? How many times has a simple sneeze set off a chain reaction of dozens and dozens of soldiers suddenly falling prey to the same disease?

You’ve lost count at this point. You’ve been with the Federal Army for quite some time, and you’ve seen these diseases - these viruses - come and go. They come, put most of the army out of commision for week - maybe kill a couple of dozen squads - before they die down once a vaccine has been made. There’s a couple of times where Felix came up with the ingenious idea to put something in the water, during the times between battles where he needs to come up with a creative way to try and kill off some of the populace.

This time, however, it’s nothing you or Felix have concocted. It’s just a strain that’s somehow gotten into the food and put half the people on the base out of commission.

And Agent Washington is infected.

He’s going to survive, though. You know he will. Doctor Grey’s been seeing to him. Doctor Grey, one of very few people to not be infected since she’s always so sterile and never out of armour. You’re also one of those very few people, also never out of armour.

Grey makes sure Washington is okay. You hear her explain to Donut and Sarge - also unaffected by the disease - that Wash is going to be okay and that he just needs rest.

You smirk to yourself. You know Washington is higher than a kite right now because of the drugs Grey’s fed him. And people under the influence always say the best things. Agent Washington is an interesting person who keeps his thoughts to himself, and the reserved ones and normally the ones who spill the most when they’re not in control of their own actions.

So you let yourself into his room, bypassing the security code that Grey set up and locking the door behind you. And then you turn to Wash.

He looks pitiful, really, curled in on himself, shivering and sweating and mumbling gibberish beneath his breath. The blankets have been kicked away; his arms are tucked in against his chest. You can smell the vomit through your helmet, and you wrinkle your nose. You were told the disease infected those who ate the meat from the canteen, because it was something in the meat that caused it. Days like this are days where you’re thankful for your vegetarianism.

Wash is curled on his side, hands clenched into fists so tightly his knuckles are white. His eyelids keep flickering. When the door slides shut behind you, he flinches. His eyes fly open; his pupils are blown so wide his grey irises are nothing more than a thin ring.

For the first few seconds after he wakes up, it’s obvious that he’s still partially in a state of sleep. He blinks several times, seems to focus in on your boots. You wonder just how out of it he is, just what he’s thinking or what he’s seeing, because, when he looks at your helmet, he croaks, “Maine?”

You read Washington’s file just after his shipped crash on Chorus. The only ‘Maine’ mentioned in his file was the Meta - another failed experiment from Project Freelancer who was driven to madness by his A.I. and hunted down former freelancers to kill them, steal their A.I. and armour enhancements. You know that Washington and the Meta knew each other before Project Freelancer, that they worked together for a while before the Meta’s death.

You also know that the Meta’s armour has no resemblance to your own, which is why you wonder just what medication Dr Grey has Washington on.

"Maine?" Wash asks again, his voice slightly higher than before. You don’t know how to answer, so you just grunt ambiguously (the Meta couldn’t talk, after all).

"Maine." It’s not questioning this time. It’s Wash confirming his suspicions. And now that he’s fully convinced that you’re Agent Maine, he presses his face into the blankets and mumbles a muffled, "Sorry."

You arch an eyebrow.

"I’m so sorry," he says. You can see tears working their way into his eyes, leaking down his cheeks onto the bed. "I’m sorry I never noticed… I’m sorry I didn’t listen… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry…"

You’re frowning now.

"I wish you never got Sigma," Wash says. He’s not looking at anything in particular. He’s staring at your boots without actually looking, his hand clutching the fabric of his grey shirt over his heart tightly. "I wish Carolina had never given him to you. I wish I’d noticed, I wish I’d paid attention."

You want to say something, but you don’t. You cross your arms over your chest, lean back against the wall behind you and just listen to Wash ramble. He only stops to draw shaky breaths, keeps talking until his voice is raspy, keeps telling you how sorry he is, how he ‘wishes he’d helped you’. 

And here’s the kicker:

He stops talking at one point, stops rambling. He just stops for a second and stares at your boots before he takes a gasping breath. “I love you. I love you so much. I love you.”

He passes out.

You stand in shock for several seconds. You stare at Wash’s unconscious form, watch his chest rise and fall unevenly for several minutes before you finally force yourself to move. The door slides open behind you and you step out into the corridor.

That was…  _interesting._

**Author's Note:**

> based on a tumblr post by owlickz: http://owlickz.tumblr.com/post/92756512936/so-like-get-this-wash-gets-hurt-or-sick-or
> 
> follow me: agentsovth.tumblr.com


End file.
